Results 1,401-1,420 of 7,773 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I have one final question. If we are looking at 179 high-priority rivers rather than at 800 rivers, which is a third of the 2,400, how can we say anything with certainty? It is like looking at a herd of cattle and saying 16 of them are bad. How can the EPA say these things when it does not analyse all of the different places and when some are analysed only every three years? I know the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The witnesses spoke about peat. Regarding the Little Brosna and Shannon rivers, did the EPA bring cases against Bord na Móna?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The witnesses spoke about peat running down rivers, etc. Did the EPA bring any cases against Bord na Móna?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: It was well known in the cases of the Little Brosna and Shannon rivers. If peat is dangerous in this way, would the EPA recommend that all the Bord na Móna peat be cleaned out of the Shannon and the Little Brosna rivers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: No, I am not talking about that. Dr. Cotter was speaking about THMs going down and organic matter going down in water. The River Shannon has a large amount of it from Bord na Móna, as everyone will acknowledge. Did the EPA bring a case against it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The case where it was stopped was different.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Would the EPA recommend that the likes of the Little Brosna river, where peat was milled, be cleaned out?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: For the information of the witnesses I am involved in a group water scheme. Generally, the location of a good spring well is fairly close to a bog or in soft ground. That is just for the information of the witnesses with regard to rural Ireland. It is actually the geological survey that will state where the water is coming from. It could be from a hill back the way. It does not always...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: If new mechanisms are put in, such as the schemes Irish Water has initiated, there will always be better quality water. There is no doubt about that. The more money that is put into Irish Water and group water schemes throughout the country, the better. That is true of anywhere you go.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Postal Services (11 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 135. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will approve the increase for pensions and deferred pensions for members of the An Post superannuation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33883/23]

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The new agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, was welcomed by many farmers. There was to be a system of a scorecard and an app that the Department had put together, especially for those in the commonage areas, for marking the different types of flowers and so on. This app has not worked properly and it was 23 days late in transferring the different portions of land across. The...

Nature Restoration Law: Motion [Private Members] (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank all the different speakers who have spoken, regardless of whether it was giving us stick or supporting us. I thank those who came to the House to speak in this debate. A few points need to be addressed. Let us be honest with the people out there. A regulation has no flexibility. I heard references to various areas of biodiversity loss. I have looked into the hedgerow part of...

Nature Restoration Law: Motion [Private Members] (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — while preventing further decline in the current state of biodiversity is an essential element in ensuring the resilience of our planet and our food production systems, we recognise that certain steps must be taken to improve the state of biodiversity across the Europe Union (EU); — the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030...

Nature Restoration Law: Motion [Private Members] (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I had understood it was to be the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan.

Nature Restoration Law: Motion [Private Members] (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: At least the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is well familiar with the area. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this motion on the nature restoration law to the Dáil. At the outset I want to make it clear that those of us who signed this motion are not against nature. Every one of us lives in nature; we promote nature; we were brought up with nature. We come from the land...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ireland's Water Quality: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I was looking at a map on which the whole of the country was red, meaning it needs additional measures. I was looking at some of the areas and there would be more cows in a corner of some counties than there would be in the whole of the county. What is the reasoning behind the EPA report on that? Second, if I am a farmer and I do not draw grants, it does not affect me, does it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ireland's Water Quality: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I will ask a few questions and get it on record. Regarding the EPA, we saw a case last week where evidence was required from the EPA and it was not able to produce it. Let us say farming organisations had a body or scientist that wanted to look at all the information. Has all of this been checked? I am involved in a group water scheme where you keep samples of the water. Is there a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ireland's Water Quality: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: My first question is probably for Mr. Flynn. Do we know for sure whether the inorganic nitrogen output of soils is directly correlated with the end concentration in rivers? Turning to Mr. Callanan, there are farmers on derogation who have 500 to 700 cows. Was there any attempt to try to protect farmers with smaller herds, for example, 100 cows? We hear of farmers who have to go from 80...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ireland's Water Quality: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Do we know?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ireland's Water Quality: Discussion (5 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Is Mr. Flynn telling me some are monitoring every ten minutes while the EPA might be only sampling a thing once a year, once every six months or once every three years?